Between Teardrops and White Lilies
by Lala Riddle
Summary: This oneshot happens right after the war is over. And Ginny and Harry talk for the first time after the battle.


The war was over, and that thought made relief go through Harry James Potter's body as a shiver.

The boy, now almost an adult, looked around and saw that all the survivors of the war were trying in every possible way, to clean up and salvage what was left of the Great Hall.

Harry sat in the rubble of the staircase leading students to other parts of the great castle, and watched the witches and wizards who were working there, while he organized his thoughts.

Fred, Remus, Tonks, and Snape. All of them had left, not to return.

Fred would be missed in the Burrow, which certainly would not be the same without the presence of that ever-smiling redhead. Moreover, George without Fred would be like a wand without magic.

Remus was like a father to Harry, for a short period of time, but a period large enough to create a bond of friendship between them. Harry promised himself he would be a great godfather to little Teddy.

Tonks had not been very present in his life, but Harry knew her peculiar and somewhat clumsy way would be missed. In fact, if it weren't for her, he probably wouldn't have attended his 6th year at Hogwarts. He would have returned to London with the Express.

And Snape, well, Snape had always been a big question mark in his life, and after his death, Harry discovered the great man that he was. Knowing that whatever Snape had done was for love, and that during that time he was a man completely loyal to Dumbledore, made him gain Harry's respect. He promised he would make sure Snape got a framework in Hogwarts as well as all other directors had.

Harry's thoughts were interrupted by Ginny, who approached the boy. She had her face all red because of the tears she had cried, but when her eyes met his, she smiled.

"Are you okay?" she asked, as she sat beside him.

"I still don't know how I feel." he replied sincerely to her.

"I wonder how _you're_ feeling." Harry asked, watching her bite her lip before answering.

"I feel a mixture of relief and sadness. But I'm proud of you Harry. You prevented Voldemort kill more people. And, your performance was impressive today." she said, and they both smiled at the comment.

Harry stopped to think for a moment. Then he said:

"Ginny, many died because of me. That's not fair to anyone. If all this hadn't happened, Fred ..." but he was interrupted by the girl.

"Fred would be dead anyway. Because he fought the good of all. Harry, it was always bigger than you! If you ever thought the Weasley family wouldn't be against Voldemort if you didn't exist, you're very much mistaken. Stop being so selfish. All who fought here have fought knowing the risk of losing their lives, or to see someone in the family die. And yet they fought! Life is not fair, Harry. I thought you were better than anyone would have understood that." Ginny said, and then looked at the ground, realizing how hard she had been with him.

Harry was staring at the horizon, absorbing the words of the redhead. But then she said:

"Harry, it's over. You can be happy now. It just depends on you." and saying this, Ginny got up and went towards the gardens.

The boy kept watching the flaming hair, until they had vanished from his field of vision.

There were so many things he wanted to tell her. Sorry, it would be the first word. But everything formed a lump in his throat, preventing him from saying anything.

Harry got up and went after the little Weasley. He walked to the gardens, but he didn't go to the girl. He stood a few steps behind, just watching the fire-colored hair flying with the wind that was blowing in that part of the garden.

"Where to begin?" thought the boy, who had several thoughts forming a giant snowball in his head.

Still away from her, he said:

"Ginny, I ... –" but he was again interrupted by the girl.

"Harry, you don't owe me any explanation. We broke up remember? I was just stupid enough to believe that after all this ended you'd come back to me. But why would you want me, now that you have all the girls at your feet? I was a big dork. That's it. A big idiot." the last sentence was said more to herself than to the boy.

She turned to face Harry, and then he saw that Ginny was crying. The tears fell silently down her face full of freckles. And it was like a punch in the stomach to him. Seeing her in that state hurt the boy. If she was like that in front of him, Harry couldn't even imagine what she would have been like when he was out hunting Hocruxes. However, he felt that she still had things to say, so he let her continue.

"It's a whirlwind of emotions that is hitting me now. Losing my brother, Tonks, Remus. It hurts. But my greatest despair was to see you being carried by Hagrid. It was rather a shock to me. You always seemed so strong, so brave. The idea that you had left me burned me up inside like a Cruciatus curse. Harry, it wasn't a pain humanly bearable." more tears fell from her eyes.

And then silence reigned. Not an awkward silence, quite the contrary. A comfortable silence, which made them both reflect. You could hear only the wind in the leaves of trees around, and the singing of the few birds that dared leave their nests after the mess that had happened there.

Harry wanted to explain everything to the redhead, but that same knot formed in his throat because he could not put his feelings into words. He looked around, searching for something that could help him, and found it.

He walked to a white lily, which somehow had survived the war that had been there. Harry Took this lily, and returned to where Ginny was.

"See that lily?" he asked. She just nodded.

Before continuing, Harry dried her tears with his fingers, pulled the red hair that covered her face, and put the flower behind Ginny's ear.

"This lily is here, even though the war went over it." Harry smiled, and Ginny grinned in response.

"Just like me." he said. "Like you, Ginny."

"Wars leave scars wherever they appear. Even in flowers. "he said, realizing that Ginny had stopped crying. "We lost relatives, this lily lost everything around it. And by a miracle, wasn't trampled or brutally ripped out of the ground." Harry stopped considering how to say what he wanted.

"Ginny, we are part of that miracle. We survived, and we are here for each other. I'm sorry for doing what I did. I believe that you have suffered a lot when I wasn't around, but you should also know that I suffered. I just broke up with you to protect you, and you know it." Harry paused, took a deep breath and continued:

"And about being happy, my happiness will only happen with you around."

Ginny looked into his eyes and saw that he was telling the truth, because there was a different glow in his eyes. It looked like a mixture of guilt with happiness, and much sincerity.

Harry just hugged the girl, hoping that she would understand the mixed feelings within him. Guilt for having abandoned her, and making her cry, and happiness to have her back by his side, even if she didn't want to.

He released the girl, and they were only looking into each other's eyes, hearing the breaths of one another. Until Harry said:

"Ginny, I'll just be happy with you. But I imagine you could refuse, after all that I did ..."

"Harry, what I want the most is you by my side again." she said, and they both smiled.

"On one condition…" Ginny said, and Harry raised an eyebrow, waiting for the redhead to talk.

"Promise you won't leave me to save the world without warning?" Ginny asked seriously.

Harry could not suppress a smile, and as he wiped the last tear that had fallen from Ginny's eyes with his fingers, he said:

"I promise."

Ginny smiled, but added:

"And one more thing…" Harry nodded for her to continue.

"Don't you dare show me a white lily again. Or else I'll cry!" Harry nodded again, but this time smiling.

"But" Ginny continued. "Whenever you see white lilies think about me."

Harry watched those brown eyes full of life, and directed his gaze to the small white lily that was resting behind Ginny's ear. He mentally imagined those eyes in that lily, and nodded to the girl.

"You bet I will, Ginevra Molly Weasley."

She grimaced when she heard her full name, but liked how they sounded from Harry's mouth.

"Now let's get back Harry, before you have another philosophy attack, which doesn't suit you at all" Ginny said, making both of them laugh.

Harry laced his fingers with Gina, and they exchanged a look of complicity as they walked back to the Hall.

And some years later, in that same garden, were born three new white lilies.

* * *

Author's Note: **Heeey, thanks for reading :D So, as English is not my first language, please correct me if you find any mistakes :) And remember to leave a review! *Nox***


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